Lux Aeterna
by Viktria
Summary: She's a product of the anomaly and the daughter of Deadman Wonderland's G-Block, but Kirika Fujiwara had never held the hands of insanity until she was sent into the blood stained gutters of the Carnival Corpse. When she snaps, who will be left to put the pieces back together? Will they ever escape this hell? [Crow x OC], Mockingbird x OC.
1. Chapter 1 - Stagnant World

**A/N - A big welcome to all of you who are reading this. I've been lurking on this website for quite some time without posting a word, but I was very moved after completing the Deadman Wonderland series and felt compelled to try to write something about it. Please note that I don't consider myself to be a very adept writer, so useful comments are highly appreciated. However, I won't tolerate flames,as I think it simply promotes a culture of cruel behaviour online. Thank you in advance! **

**UPDATE 28/09 - I've added some songs at the end of each chapter to act as a 'playlist' of sorts. This is purely for readers who enjoy this sort of thing - you've no obligation to listen to them whatsoever. Also - don't hate on my music taste; I listen to basically everything possible and if you disagree with some of my choices, just roll with it. ~V**

* * *

><p>The wintry current of air shoved the girl from her slumber.<p>

The metallic tang of blood around her body alerted her to danger.

As she came to, she made out the sounds of male mutterings, a door creaking softly. She realised that she was in an entirely foreign place. Two unsteady fingers assessed the presence of a sticky red substance cloaked around her cheeks, and she gingerly traced it to the apex of her forehead and shoulders. The blood appeared to be hers. Had she been attacked? If so, why?

Her eyes widened as she took in the stark lighting of her surroundings. How clinical! The white fluorescence helped to create ghostly shadows around the tall cabinets and medical instruments. She valiantly attempted to sit up before realising that her chest, waist and legs were strapped down by a thick, hardy material that she could not scrabble undone, regardless of her violent struggling. A sharp sear of pain in her left thigh – she winced - also prevented any further attempts at release.

Then, to her left, a quiet giggle of appreciation: 'Are you done struggling, little Raven?'

He sounded male, and as he slunk into her field of view she saw that he was indeed so. If she could pinpoint him as an animal- which she was quite in the foul mood to do- she would say that he was a fox, or perhaps a weasel. There was simply no other way to put it. His revolting sneer had her reeling even before he said the next sentence.

"Because I think it's time you stopped your charade. Why don't you just cave into your hidden desire… to kill?"

"I don't know who you think you are to say such things, old man, but I'm no killer," she spat, "and if you think you can keep me here so you can do perverted things, then you're dead wrong!"

To many people, her current glare would have had them fleeing long ago- but this Weasel seemed more delighted than ever. In fact, he chuckled louder, as though to savour her irritation.

"I think you're going to fit right in, little Raven. I think you and I both know that you can never return to where you once were. Not many people on the outside really like mass murderers- and let me tell you, the things they've said about your case have not been very complimentary. Ah well. You know, since you're on death row, it's not like you'll ever see the real world again. There are too ma-"

"Did you just say I'm a mass murderer? And why do you keep calling me a raven?"

She frowned underneath her disinterested mask. Okay, so maybe she'd pirated some media files… alright, maybe she even pirated them every day. And maybe, just maybe, she'd sent the local Japanese government into an amusing frenzy last year when she hacked into their security database and published some 'secret' files onto the World Wide Web. But she, a mass murderer? On death row? There was no way that any of this could be true.

The Weasel snickered, clearly delighted by her confusion. He reached to undo her binds with a simple key before stepping back to assess her battered condition. "I heard that there were several children in that theatre- and of course, many parents and students. In fact, I heard that there were about seventy people killed in there. Too bad, so sad. My, my, Raven; are we so forgetful of how _precious _life is?"

Distracted by her sudden freedom, she shoved past him with an awkward limp towards the lone door in the room. He watched on with mild interest as she drove her shoulder through the exit… and into the waiting grasp of a fully-armoured white guard, who said nothing as it shoved her firmly back into the Weasel's chortling domain. Her attempt at struggle was reprieved by metal arms in an instant, and she knew she was far too weak to fight. She slackened her posture. The door clicked shut.

The man struck up a conversational tone, ignoring the silent guard. "You'll have to forgive my foot soldiers, Raven, they're a bit, ah, _excitable_ when it comes to dealing with Deadmen. And you, of course, have wonderful potential. Yes… I absolutely can't wait to see how you fare with the rest of your species. You see, someone of your abilities deserves special treatment," – here he paused to give her a merry thumbs-up, "and we at Deadman Wonderland are going to give that to you."

She ignored his feeble attempt at distraction.

"What did you do to my friends?" she growled viciously, clenching her fists. "_Did you kill them_?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't you?"

His blasé reaction had her seeing red. "I went to see a film with them! Halfway through, some crazy red man slashes all of us to shreds! You had something to do with this, so answer me! _Did you kill them?_"

"Isn't it true that you were on the run for three days after that _incident_?" With a laugh, he shook his head. "That sounds suspicious, and everybody knows it, Raven."

"I was not running," she gritted her through her teeth, "I was trying to work out why in hell bloodcame out of my body and started destroying things everywhere. Funnily enough, I was also trying not to bleed out. The next thing I know, I'm here with a certain idiot talking at me."

The Weasel simpered at that. "So you admit to destroying-"

"_I told you, I did not kill my friends!_"

He sighed languorously. "What if I told you that all of your questions could be answered by the end of your stay with us?"

"…This really isn't a joke, is it," she voiced mutinously. "You're telling me I have some kind of power that you want to play with, is that it?"

The Weasel clapped his hands together in assent. "And I think you already know what that is." He gestured to her shoulders, parts of which were still scabbed and raw. "We encourage your prowess here. You don't have to hide it at all- just survive! Cast points will buy you a piece of candy to keep you going every three days- we only need you to do some playtime for it. Give us a good show and we'll help you to extend yourself like never before."

"You think I _want _to stay here and play your games?" she shouted, feeling a coil of anger stab through her aching body.

"What else is going to pass the time while you're on death row?" the man replied simply.

She snapped.

A prick of pain lingered across her shoulders as streams of her blood released to form a quivering pair of razor-tipped 'wings'. Unerringly, she directed their tips at his unsurprised face. A low growl ripped through her throat. Perhaps if she could just rip out his tongue, that salacious sneer might disappear…

The foot soldier raised a spiked baton and swept it towards her chest.

"Don't interfere!" she hissed; suddenly, the soldier was on the ground, blood seeping out from underneath the damaged armour, a quiet moan his only noise of surprise.

The Weasel shrugged at the scene and casually pressed a button on his watch, which lead to six more of his soldiers rushing into the room to hold her down. She didn't have the strength or speed to react in time. The pierce of a needle's head registered in her hazy mind as she struggled to stay afloat in the sea of madness.  
>Just before the blackness swam over her eyelids, she managed to hear one more piece of his insanity.<p>

"You're here because I want you to be, little Raven. You're here to entertain me, and you're here to stay. We'll always be watching…"

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><p><strong>Playlist A<strong>

**Welcome Oblivion - How To Destroy Angels**

**Blue - The Birthday Massacre**

**Bury Me - Breathe Carolina**


	2. Chapter 2 - Birds Of Prey

"Why does she have to be in _my _room while you lazy asses get hers sorted out!?" someone angrily roared.

"Overcrowding in the cells," a bored, monotonous voice grunted.

"Bullshit!" the initial voice yelled. "Put her elsewhere!"

A quieter voice tried to placate him. "Don't worry, Senji-san. We'll explain everything to her ourselves and maybe by then, they'll have figured out what to do with her."

A pair of orderly footsteps clunked quietly away. The floor spread chills across the back of her semi-conscious body. _Cold…_

"Ah, they're gone. They're kind of freaky, those lap dogs of his," the same youthful voice sighed. "All white and way too robotic."

The angry man sounded like he'd slammed his hand against the wall. "Kid… how many times do I have to tell you? Calling me Senji is fine!"

"It's a sign of respect!" the other protested.

"I'm not a fourty-year-old, you idiotic Woodpecker!"

"In that case, I humbly apologise, _Crow…"_

"Ohoho. Since you're so comfortable with calling me that, do you want another taste of my claws? I'll hit you _dead centre_!"

She decided that it was probably a good time to open her eyes and sit up. Noting that her attire now consisted of a tight and sleeveless leather dress that rode just to  
>the top of her thighs, she made to stand straight and immediately winced. Ouch… she still ached all over. At least the gash in her thigh had nicely healed, leaving only a pearly scar in its wake. It seemed like the doctors had given her a once-over.<p>

A young boy with grey eyes and a sincere smile extended a calloused hand to help her up off the floor. "You're finally awake! Nice to meet you, I'm Ganta Igarashi… or Woodpecker," he hastily added. "You can call me whichever you want."

Something about his bashful nature made her feel reassured about giving away her own name, and she managed a tiny smile in return. "I'm Kirika Fujiwara. The Weasel called me Raven."

"Weasel?" A deeper voice spoke, sounding amused. He sounded like the angry man from before. "You mean that crazy games co-ordinator, Tsunenaga?" He stepped out of the shadows, a palpable look of interest on his sharp features… which suddenly changed to display alarm. "Hey, woman, just what do you think you're wearing!?"

Kirika looked downwards. There was nothing particularly exciting about the dress, which clung perfectly to her flesh thanks to the corset-style back. Her feet- and indeed, most of her long, pale legs- were covered by a pair of comfortable black boots, laced tightly to the top, which extended to just above her knees. In fact, this was the most covered up she'd been in ages. "I'm wearing what they gave me, of course."

"Senji-san, there's nothing wrong with how she looks!" Ganta defended valiantly, sounding confused.

The older male shook his spiky-haired head violently, and shrugged off the long coat which had been hiding his rather perfectly sculpted upper body. "You look like a dominatrix! Put this on! No- put it on without shrugging your shoulders… honestly, _they're swaying_…"

She gave him an odd look as the overly-large coat wrapped its warmth and spicy male scent around her. "Hey, are you some sort of pervert?"

"I should be saying that to you!" he shouted, turning away from her curious stare. "If you're going to stay in this room, keep yourself covered up!"

The young boy couldn't help but laugh as he picked up an old, worn book labelled "Rules", motioning her to sit beside him at the table. "And that man, Kirika-san, is Senji Kiyomasa- or Crow, as they like to put it."

"What's with that tone of voice, kid…" Senji glowered ominously. Deciding to put it behind him, he gestured towards the rulebook. "That book's a load of crap for anyone in G-Block. She'd get it better coming from us."

Ganta frowned, scratching his hair. "Hmm, you're probably right." Putting the book to the side, he sighed and poured some water into a small cup. After taking a drink, he cleared his throat. "Okay, Kirika-san-"

"Just call me Kirika," she interjected, wanting to promote a friendly vibe.

He rolled his eyes, not looking at Senji, who had snickered a little at the correction. "Okay, Kirika. What did you do to get stuck in Deadman Wonderland's death row _carnival_?"

She noted that his last word had sounded very scathing, and wondered if perhaps she wasn't the only one to get caught in this strange place for no reason. "As far as I'm concerned, I haven't done anything to deserve it," she explained. "Sure, maybe I've committed some petty computer crimes. But I always figured there were bigger fish to fry, so I don't know how they got a hold of my name."

A big sigh from the tall man told her that she wasn't saying the right things. "Not the petty stuff, kid. What did you _really _do?" He gestured around himself. "This place is full of freaks, you know. Woodpecker here managed to massacre an entire classroom."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Did you really, Ganta?"

"Of course not!" The young boy objected loudly, looking a little cross. "Why would I kill my friends? I could never do that. It was the Red Man…" he closed his eyes as if in pain, "…but they blamed it on me and I got locked in here."

Kirika bit her lip sympathetically, noting that he had also mentioned a red man. She promised herself to ask him about it later. "So they framed you as well?"

"Yeah," he replied, looking relieved at her understanding. "I was with the regulars- the other prisoners- for a while, but after a certain incident they moved me here." A bitter smile laced his small mouth. "I became a Deadman."

"And… after the incident, you realised that you were able to do _things _with your blood, right?"

Ganta nodded. "It really started to develop when I met that guy," he pointed towards a rather bored-looking Senji, "and he's helped to train my Gun ever since."

"Gun?" she inquired interestedly.

"Well, it's not like a pistol or anything," he said mildly. "But with practise, I can get a pretty good projectile coming out from here." He pointed to his hands.

At that, Senji grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Hitting them _dead centre _more and more every time, kid."

The younger boy tilted his head curiously towards Kirika. "What can you do with your powers? Ah, no…" a faint blush tinted his cheeks, "If you don't want to show us, you don't have to..."

"It's not that I wouldn't mind showing you, but I have some problems _controlling _it," she smiled faintly, a little sheepish. "Sometimes it's more powerful than others- or at least, that's what the Weasel-"

"You said you were Raven, right?" Senji interrupted, grabbing a sip of water himself.

"That's what he called me," Kirika replied quizzically at the interruption.

Senji suddenly grasped Ganta's shoulder with a smouldering smirk of glee. "This is the girl those guards been talking about, Ganta. The one that killed over seventy people in the cinema and-"

A murderous glare crossed her face as she glared darkly at him. "I _did not _kill anybody!"

"But you _do _have a taste for it, little girl," the older male snorted. "We heard they even had to send some Undertakers over your way when Tsunenaga grabbed you on the streets, since you put up such a fight. Knocked out a few of his underlings, didn't you?"

Ganta noted the expression of extreme surprise that thinned her lips and darkened her unusually pale hazel eyes. "Hey, surely you remember?" he said softly.

Kirika shook her head slowly, becoming increasingly irritated with the Crow's behaviour towards her. "Not at all."

"She's either putting up a front or they injected her with something real good." Senji scoffed. As he stretched, his defined muscles rippled and she noticed matching scar lines raking down his forearms. "Anyway, Ganta, get back to the main points, we don't have all day."

"Alright…" the boy sighed. He motioned to the collar that adorned all of their necks. "Basically, you need candy to keep you alive, or the poison that this releases will kill you. Every three days, you need to have one. They taste pretty bad, but that's how it goes. You've got one in your welcome package, right?"

She nodded her assent. "I think I know all of the basics. Is there anything else that is only relevant to us that I should know?"

At that, he looked uncomfortable. "Well… there is the-"

"There's the Carnival Corpse," Senji uttered with a sardonic grin, watching Ganta ball his hands into fists. "You and me. You and Ganta. You and everyone else in this hellhole. Hummingbird, Owl; whoever, whatever. We fight, someone loses. The losers get a part of themselves removed by the doctors. Sounds _fun_, right?"

"…Fun?" Kirika said dryly. She was starting to feel sick. She didn't have giant muscles like the older man, or even the most basic skills of kindness like Ganta. And she damn well didn't want to give up a part of herself to some disgusting medic who wanted to salivate over her body! "What can be lost?"

Poor Ganta was looking more and more disturbed by his memories, even as he knew that he should be putting up a more confident front for himself in the presence of a stranger. "We can lose anything- our stomachs, hearts, livers, kidneys, eyes…"

"Is there anything that's non-internal?" She spoke dryly, trying not to show how much this news bothered her.

"Well, yeah," Senji replied with a snort, showing her his foot. It was missing a toe, but he didn't seem bothered at all. "Anything goes. That's their style."

Feeling mildly nauseous, Kirika stood up abruptly, not noticing the coat falling off from her shoulders. "I have to use the bathroom."

She heard a muffled gasp and quiet murmurs behind her as she locked the door and sank to the pale tiles. What was going on? She'd been a regular girl going to the cinemas with her friends last month, and now...

She glanced upwards. The spotless mirror had a crack to the left side, jagging her face grotesquely. Two pale hazel eyes glittered strangely back at her, adorned by thick, brown lashes and a nose that was a little too small for her features. Her mouth curved downwards in an unhappy line, almost touching a strand of dark brown hair that had strayed from the rest, which she usually kept tucked behind one ear and pushed over her left shoulder. A small scratch decorated her right cheek- she had no idea where it was from- which was otherwise occupied with a faint blush that showed clearly through her pale skin. Overall, she simply looked tired and frightened. She didn't know what was going to come next, but she was sure it couldn't be good.

Splashing a little cold water on her face, she took a deep breath and put her hand back onto the doorknob. _I absolutely can't get attached to these people,_ she reminded herself sternly, _no matter how trustworthy they seem to be._

"So, Raven." Senji began cordially as she re-entered, which raised her suspicions- he'd been anything but polite to her over the past few hours. "Those scars all over your back. They wouldn't have anything to do with your Branch of Sin, would they now?"

Ganta looked a little worried at his forwardness. "Don't start a fight…"

"She's the rookie who Tsunenaga required Undertakers for- that hasn't happened since Mockingbird. And we all know how psycho _that _bastard is. So of course I'm going to be curious, kid," the other replied dangerously easily, cracking his knuckles again. Kirika noticed the sharp rings adorning Senji's fingers, and suddenly put  
>two and two together with the scars all over his forearms. <em>So that's where his power emerges from…<em>

"They _would _have something to do with my Branch," she said pleasantly, trying to ignore the slowly deteriorating vibe that was in the room. "But I don't really want to show you right now- this room isn't big enough for both of us, if you need a reason."

"That's just fine by me," Senji smiled, stepping closer to her. Even though she wasn't short- she was a good 1.75m tall- the man still managed to tower over her, radiating a predatory grin. "A good fight is always a little messy."

"It wasn't a challenge," Kirika said exasperatedly, shaking her head.

Senji threw his head back and laughed. "Too bad. I'm taking it as one."

_I have to control my anger…_

Seeing the girl's obvious irritation at those words, Ganta pursed his lips and stepped between them hastily. "Quit it. She's only just gotten here and you want to fight her? She's your roommate, Senji!"

"If you don't shut up, kid, I'll take both of you on," the man growled. "I want to see what you can do, girl!"

_I need to control my anger…_

With an easy slit, the Crow's claws began a certain trajectory that would impale her to death.

* * *

><p>As soon as Kirika saw the huge claw of blood sweep at a lightning-fast speed towards her, she <em>knew.<em>

Why had the Weasel placed her in a cell with a man who was volatile to her style of dress and even her name? Why, when they were both hot-headed? Why hadn't he just put her in Ganta's cell, where everything would have been peaceful (or as peaceful as it would ever get)? Better yet, why not just leave her in her own space? She didn't believe for a second that G-Block was overcrowded. It wasn't as if new Deadmen were made daily.

It was because, as he had said- he was _watching. _The Weasel wanted a _show._ Even if nobody else was watching aside from himself. Moreover, it was a test. Who better to test her powers on than a man who seemingly lived for the best battles that he could find?

Well, if it was a test, she would rise to the occasion. Even if she couldn't control herself completely. She'd show him that she was no test subject.

Finding her innermost feelings of hatred and resentment toward the establishment that had left her in this mess, Kirika took a deep breath…

…and became the Raven.

A second later, the colour of the walls ran red.

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><p><strong>Playlist B<strong>

**Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye**

**Honeybear - Yeah Yeah Yeahs**

**Mr. Self Destruct - Nine Inch Nails**


	3. Chapter 3 - Bone Splinter

The sharp sting that coursed through her shoulders as her Branch of Sin emerged was becoming achingly familiar.

She saw Crow's eyes widen with excitement as she dodged his slice with ease, finding the ground to be suffocating in the face of his barrage of attacks. Her crimson wings lifted her into the small space above ground, just out of his left claw's current range, and she decided to take a strong offensive. Shifting her blood's form slightly, she sent several razor-sharp 'feathers' to his chest, smiling grimly when three of them found their mark near his collarbone. Still, the man shook off the damage with a bigger grin, snorting as he sliced the rest of her attempts away.

"_That's _all you've got? Goddamn, and here I thought I was onto a real winner."

"You might regret saying that when this is over," Raven spat out as she dodged another barrage of slices- just barely. The room was not designed for an avian of her kind, ironically enough.

Crow seemed to recognise this as he lunged towards her with blinding speed. "_Dead centre!"_

A sharp sear of pain shot through the front of her left shoulder as he raked viciously, causing her to almost crash to the floor; her attempt at blocking the attack was feeble at best. Seconds later, another slash cut straight through and impaled the entirety of the wing, severing her ability to fly. She screamed in shock, causing him to look at her in disgust. "Pathetic," he commented. "Seriously, pathetic." He turned away and rolled his eyes at Ganta, who had been cowering in the corner of the bathroom the whole time. "Kid, don't get your panties up in a frilly little bunch. I don't know what Tsunenaga was thinking, but he was dead wrong. She's a nobody." He sheathed his claws.

Splayed out on the ground, Raven breathed heavily as blood slowly trickled down her dress. The agony and embarrassment was absolute, almost causing her to black out. How could she have been so stupid?

_By calling myself Raven, I fell into the Weasel's game. He wanted me to become like this, right? His little pet? He just wanted me to turn into this stupid character all along. God, I've been so stupid. _

"Fuck… you…" she rasped at Crow's turned back, coughing violently. "Fuck you!"

The man turned around with an acerbic expression. "You got anything better to say, little girl?"

"I'm saying this… because… I'm Kirika Fujiwara!" Her shout punctuated to the surveillance cameras, "Fuck you, Tsunenaga! I'll defeat this shitty idiot in my own way! I _don't _need you!"

Twin middle fingers saluted the skies as Crow incredulously watched on.

* * *

><p>Staring at this rather amusing footage, the man to whom her impassioned speech was dedicated quirked his lips up indifferently.<p>

"Well, that's a first," he mused, lurching to his feet. Settling at the computer usually reserved for chatting with his Carnival Corpse punters, he sent out a quick, public message to all those who were online.

_**Re: Crow vs. Raven. The Impromptu has begun- live feed being streamed as of now. Place bets or take notes for CCs sure to come. ~Master**_

Licking his dry lips, he savoured the immediate response.

_**Who's Raven? 1000 on her. ~Daisy**_

_**You'd have made a great Roman ruler, M. Colosseum much? Love it. 3000 on Crow. ~Shin**_

_**My wife adores Crow- let's see how this one goes! 10k on him. ~Popeye**_

_**Ooh, so much blood already? This looks good. 900 on Raven. ~ Marc**_

_**How do you always get these great battles going, T? Haha, I'll just watch for now. ~King**_

Pleased with his efforts, Tsunenaga stretched and trained his eyes back onto the monitor. The sunglasses-wearing plants kept revolving with giant grins.

* * *

><p>A cold clarity seared away the remainder of her self-loathing as she steadily rose to her feet. The coagulating blood on her left shoulder thinned and copied the formation of its twin: six serpent-like forms on each shoulder, each moving eerily fast on their own accord. She heard Ganta gasp from the corner, and ignored him as a palpable aura of darkness surrounded her. There were more pressing matters in hand than that boy's worry.<p>

Kirika wheeled around to face Crow dispassionately. "Don't you know it's rude to turn your back to the enemy?"

"I know it's damn rude to talk to the air while you're supposed to be dying," he retorted, hair seeming to spike to greater heights in annoyance. "Are you done with your whining?"

"I'm done with _you._"

The cockiest smile stretched across the man's face as his claws came back out to play. "Bring it on!"

But this time, things went terribly wrong.

Crow didn't even have time to think as the 'serpents' streaked towards his legs; his parry was cut through even as he was swept from his feet. She was on him, then; serpent's heads plunging deep into his gaping chest as her eyes rolled back into her head. Blood rained everywhere as his own claws were shattered by terribly strong strikes. There was no technique, no skill: only a maliciousness that sprayed the white bone splinters of his left hand all over the slippery ground. Amazingly, as his most vicious assailant collapsed and appeared to lose consciousness, the serpents doubled in size and plummeted down upon him, raining a sea of the most painful blood through his veins, poisoning his weakened spirit.

A shriek pierced through the loud silence ringing in his ears as he lay dying, with the unconscious girl by his side and the serpents deforming into the blood that they both needed to call their own to survive. He coughed loudly. "_Dead… centre…_"

"Senji-san!" Someone cried out. "Senji, stay awake! Help! _Help_!"

He was yelling as though someone would help them in the Wonderland.

"Ganta!" A girl's voice screamed, lithe footsteps running into the cell.

"Shiro! Oh, thank goodness…" The sound of relief was tangible.

"What happened, Ganta? Are you hurt?!"

"They had a fight… I'm fine… Shiro… do something, _please…_" The voice pleaded.

"Shiro doesn't know whether she can help…"

"_There has to be something you can do to help them!"_

As the two voices argued into the distance, a louder crash echoed through the fog. He felt his body being lifted into the air and groaned loudly as the pain coursed through him. It was enough to bring blackness to his mind- and in turn, peace.

An orderly march carried two bodies away.

* * *

><p><strong>Playlist C<strong>

**Down With The Sickness - Disturbed**

**Begging For Mercy - Bullet For My Valentine**

**Hold Your Horses - Fallulah**


	4. Chapter 4 - Conscious Flush

Kirika savoured the warmth flowing through her body as she drew the crisp, white sheets closer to herself. It was so nice and quiet in here! Later, perhaps, she'd get up and make herself a cup of tea- her mother would probably have a slice of cake and a smile ready for her. And she'd clean her room today; she'd been putting it off for far too long. All those Aceman toys stacked up in the corner really needed to be cleaned up- it wasn't like she played with them anymore. Also, she'd clean out the bird cage- and her pet crow probably needed to be fed, too-

_Wait. _

She realised that she wasn't at home anymore.

There was no scent any of freshly baked cakes, or the sound of her crow shrieking to be let out onto her shoulder. There wasn't the steady whine of her computer running in the background, or even the steady pulse of the clock that ticked on her wall.

There was no mistake about it; she was in Deadman Wonderland. By the looks of the syringes and complex looking machinery scattered about the room, she was probably in the infirmary.

_So why aren't I in agonising pain?_

In an instant, her memories swept through her mind. There'd been a _lot _of blood, right? And Crow… Senji… he'd shredded her wings and almost half of her back, if the dull burn that she could feel was anything to go by. Why was she still alive? The last scene that she really remembered was her cussing out the Weasel. Did she black out after that?

"Hey, woman."

She flinched at the sudden sound, thrust out of her reverie. Turning her head to the right, she saw the man in question looking at her with a faint smile of acknowledgement. "Senji?"

"Yeah. You pack a mean hit, that's for sure…" he mumbled, definitely looking worse for wear. His sheets rode just above his hipbones, so that slightly soiled bandages covering his entire upper body were clear to the naked eye.

Kirika couldn't help but gasp slightly. "What _happened _to you? How did you get those wounds?"

He raised a sceptical eyebrow. "As _if _you don't remember such a one-sided fight."

"I really don't," she said honestly. "I remember you just about killing me, though."

"…I can't believe you just said that." Senji's low chuckle cut off suddenly as he winced. "Damn. It's been a while since I've been this screwed in battle." He stared morosely at the remaining fingers of his left hand. "Oh well. At least it was only three of them."

As Kirika opened her mouth to enquire about the ragged state of his hand, the door slid open and an irritated looking woman walked through, saying, "You'll have some new fingers inserted soon enough."

"I will?" Senji looked confused. "Now why would something as convenient as that happen?"

"The Promoter doesn't want his toys to be much damaged unless it happens in a Carnival Corpse," she replied frankly. Malicious eyes flicked over to Kirika. "I'm Rei Takashima, the doctor of this facility. I don't want you almost killing the goods again unless it's in the arena, got it?"

Kirika stayed silent as Senji snorted. "You're just pissed because you have to give me back what I lost."

"You're not wrong. I'd love to take an eye of yours, or maybe your pancreas… something _fun._" The doctor busied herself with injecting liquid into both of their IVs.

"Well, maybe you'll get a better chance to do so next time." The man sneered in disgust. "If the girl doesn't completely take me apart."

Surprisingly, he didn't seem angry at Kirika's actions. In fact, he almost seemed pleased.

"Everyone is saying that I almost killed Senji…" the injured girl began hesitantly, "but I don't remember that happening. Actually, I thought I was going to die back there."

Takashima rolled her eyes. "The recording is waiting for you back in your new room. You had a fit of some sort and nearly wiped out Kiyomasa's place after you shouted at the Promoter."

Kirika's troubled expression was ignored by both doctor and male patient.

"What?!" Senji yelped. "My place is totalled? Where the hell do I stay then?" His cheeks heated up comically.

"Hmm…" the doctor checked her clipboard for show, already knowing the answer. The Promoter had been extremely pleased at the entertainment that had been created by putting the Raven and Crow together; from the amount of dancing he'd been doing as she fetched his evening apéritif, he clearly wanted more action soon. Where was the Crow going to stay? It was so obvious. "For the foreseeable future, you'll be staying in Fujiwara's room."

"_Huh_?!" Both patients gasped in unison.

"But she's a _girl_!" Senji brandished his good hand at the doctor's face, appealing for her to see reason.

"…Is that a problem?" Kirika asked, amused.

"Hey, hey, hey; we were only meant to be staying together for a day. Now we're stuck together for good? What," the man lowered his voice dangerously, "are you and Tsunenaga up to, Takashima?"

"I have no idea what you're on about, Kiyomasa," the older woman said sharply in reply. "Anyway, that's how it is, so deal with it. Fujiwara, your test results are fine- so put this on and you're free to go." A new leather dress of the same design was tossed onto the bed.

Kirika pursed her lips as curtains were drawn around her bed. She stripped off the thin, papery hospital gown and assessed her naked body. Aside from some faint scratches, she seemed fine. There was just a cut mark there, and there, and… _what the hell is that?_

"Doctor Takashima, could you please come in here for a moment?" she called; her voice hoarse with surprise. Temporarily covering herself with a blanket – the air conditioning was quite cold - she waited.

"What is it?" The doctor stepped inside the small area, looking bored.

The girl dropped the blanket so the strange thing could be seen. "Why… why is this _glowing_?"

Takashima couldn't help but grin almost predatorily. Perfect. When that girl got killed at whatever time, she'd have another of _those _to experiment upon. "It's nothing to worry about. But if you find the Wretched Egg, please ask it yourself."

"Wretched… Egg?" Kirika couldn't help but stare in shock at the strange phenomenon inside her. "Are you joking?"

"No. Now get changed and get out of here, or I'll start dissecting you before you've even crossed to the other side." With that, the so-called doctor exited the small space and the infirmary itself. High-heeled footsteps echoed quietly away.

Shrugging, Kirika quickly slid the leather dress on- but became very aware of a new issue.

The first time they'd put the dress on her, they'd been kind enough to tie up the corset tightly, so that it actually fit. Now, no matter how hard she pulled, she didn't have the strength to adjust the strings so that the dress didn't just slide off her body again. A tiny blush worked its way up her cheeks as she realised what had to happen.

_Damn it, Weasel; don't tell me you planned for this to happen, too?!_

Despite not being terrified of the opposite gender, as Senji seemed to be, Kirika was still a little shy of having to need a near-stranger help her with _tying her up_. His sculpted body was not something that could be ignored, either- she doubted that the man knew what a presence he had on women. Shaking her head, she decided that she had to hope for the best. _How bad could it be, right?_

…_Right?_

Keeping the dress pressed to the front of her body as tightly as she could, Kirika stepped out of the curtained area and approached the man, who had been moved out of his bed and now sat in a nearby chair. "Hey… Senji?"

"Hmm?" He had his eyes trained on a magazine called _Mastery Monthly: The Mystery of Iaido_, and didn't bother to look at her.

"I need your help with something," she said in a small voice.

"Yeah? What is it?"

She took a deep breath before blurting it out. "C-could you tie me up, please?"

The sip of water that Senji had been taking was spat straight back out, as he finally looked at her, and how little she was wearing. She had her back half-turned to him, laced cords hanging loosely from their rightful place, so that he could admire… no, so that he could _see _almost all of the pale flesh that lead down to… down to…

"W-w-what the _fuck_, woman?! Cover yourself up!" He yelled, averting his grey gaze so fast that he cricked his neck rather painfully.

"That's what I'm asking you to do, you idiot!" Kirika yelled just as loudly, turning beet red.

"D-d-do it yourself!"

"If I could, why the hell would I be asking you to do it?!"

"Don't expect me to know how women work!"

Kirika rolled her eyes at his last comment. "Come on, pretty-please, help me out here!"

In total embarrassment, Senji dropped his magazine and tried to shove away his problem. (In hindsight, he realised that this action was pretty dumb. But, in his defence, he'd been flustered.) The girl was surprisingly light- he saw from the way she fell that he'd been perhaps a bit too strong with her. Furthermore, there were at least two more problems created by her impromptu date with gravity:

Firstly, the front of her dress had now bared itself entirely, a large swathe of material tangling with her legs.

Secondly, she'd probably alerted the entirety of Deadman Wonderland that something was remiss in G-Block's medical facility. Screw soundproof walls, her scream of shock had definitely shattered every window for miles.

"_Are you a COMPLETE IDIOT_?!" Kirika shouted, trying to 'wrap' herself up with only her arms. Needless to say, it only covered the bare necessities, which was not enough to leave Senji with anything less than a nosebleed. "And _don't _go getting a nosebleed now before you fix my dress, you _pervert_!"

"_It was an accident, I swear_!" Looking away, his blush was hot enough to most likely heat the entirety of G-Block in the winter for a week.

"Never mind that, just tie me up already!" She scrabbled at the soft leather, pulling the front up to a more modest height. "I'll never mention this again if you don't."

"I won't forgive you for this," Senji threatened, shutting his eyes tightly and approaching her slowly, "ever."

She shoved the cords into his hands, ignoring him. "Now pull, as hard as you can."

Opening his grey gaze to mere slits, he couldn't help but brush her soft, pliant skin accidentally as he took hold of them. He cheeks were flushing deeply and he knew it; how was it possible that a girl's skin could be so silken?

Tugging roughly, he heard her release a sharp swell of breath. "Oi… Is this tight enough?"

"Y-yeah," Kirika muttered unevenly. "That's fine. Just tie a knot." She hoped that he could not sense how discomforted she felt by having his rough hands merely touch her _there _for a moment.

"…You have goose-bumps." The man stated dryly, stepping very quickly away from her.

Her embarrassment flared heatedly as she safely swirled around to meet his eyes. "I-it's cold in here! Not that you would know, draped in that coat."

"That doesn't sound like a thank you to me, woman." Senji picked up his magazine again and sat back down onto the chair.

She hummed with displeasure. "_Thank _you, Senji."

The two both faced downwards with ample blushes to match. Fortunately, the relatively awkward moment was broken by the door crashing back open. Takashima strode in with a furious glare, which intensified as she saw that Kirika was still very much present. "Do you have a death wish, girl?"

"No, Doctor," she mumbled. "I'll just be leaving now."

As Kirika closed the door, she very faintly heard the doctor say, "You're up for the Carnival in two days' time, Kiyomasa."

Senji sighed. "Who is it this time?"

"Ganta Igarashi, I believe. You might know him as the Woodpecker."

She didn't hear a reply.

* * *

><p><strong>Playlist D<strong>

**Sun's Coming Up - Tame Impala**

**3:16 AM - Jhene Aiko**

**Red Belt - Tegan and Sara**


	5. Chapter 5 - Liar Liar

Making her way to her new room, Kirika struggled to dispel the black sense of unease that lingered in her bones. _Why don't I remember hurting Senji that badly? What's the Wretched Egg? And what the hell really happens in the Carnival Corpse?_

"Oof!" Caught unaware, she found herself staring at a little girl who had slipped onto the floor at their impact. "Oh… I'm so sorry."

"Um, it's okay…" the girl quavered in a small voice. She had two long, brown pigtails that hung loosely over her bony shoulders, and gentle grey-hazel eyes. Pink flowers were clipped to a part of her fringe. She seemed rather young and impressionable, Kirika thought, stretching out a hand to help her back up.

The girl smiled sweetly as she brushed dust off her pale, yellow dress. "What's your name? I haven't seen you around here before. My name is Minatsuki- Minatsuki Takami."

"I'm Kirika." she replied kindly. _I guess there's no point hiding my name now that Ganta and Senji already know. _

The young girl gasped in shock. "You're that girl from yesterday?!"

"…Huh?"

"But you don't look much like her now…" Minatsuki murmured to herself, seeming distressed. "You don't seem… as scary. Or covered in blood, I guess." She took a big step back and seemed to cower slightly. "Um, I hope I didn't upset you. I mean, I was just surprised that it's really you, is all."

"You mean you saw me fight with Senji?" Kirika said incredulously. _Damn that Weasel… now I can't even keep my Branch ability secret from everyone else!_

Minatsuki nodded, clasping her small hands together tightly. "Sometimes, the Promoter holds special events – aside from the Carnival Corpse – for the viewers. I think they bet on us… well, in any case, everyone in this block is able to watch the footage, too. I don't really like to watch it, I don't like fighting, but… for some reason, the television wouldn't switch off yesterday…"

"…Oh." Kirika couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say. "Well, don't worry; I'm not usually like that. I, uh, hate fighting too."

"I thought so," the young girl said with a shy smile, "you seem too nice of a person to be so violent." At that, she giggled more to herself; Kirika smiled with her. _I could make an ally out of her. _

"Good God, woman; do you enjoy procrastinating or are you a social magnet?" A male voice interrupted. Turning around, she saw Senji striding towards them, long jacket billowing, with a bemused look on his face. "Can't any of you get things done? If Takashima gets a sniff of you again out of your room, she'll ventilate your brains."

Minatsuki giggled louder, girlishly playing with the ends of her dress. "You're such a grump, Kiyomasa."

"And you're in a suspiciously good mood," Senji said darkly. "I won't ask why. Come _on_, woman," he gestured at Kirika's raised eyebrows, "I want to sleep, so let's get to our room."

"You two are _sharing _a room?" Minatsuki wondered in disbelief. "Are you…?"

Both girls watched him turn a shade of cherry-red. "As if anything like that would ever happen! It's not my fault I got stuck with this woman!"

"We've only just met, you know." Kirika interjected quickly. "It's just that I messed up his room yesterday, and he's got nowhere else to stay, so…"

The girl grinned impishly, looking unlike herself. "If you say so."

"_Food… I'm so hungry…_" A faint, male voice groaned from the distance. Both Minatsuki and Senji perked up, alert. "_Isn't there anything more… to eat?_"

"Him again," Senji said, looking thoroughly disgusted. "We just can't get a break today."

Kirika frowned. "What's going on?"

Heavy footsteps drew ever closer. "_Doesn't anybody… have food for me?_"

"Someone is pretty hungry," Minatsuki said simply, looking scared. "I-I'm going back to my room. Um, see you around, Kirika!" She skipped away hurriedly.

"What about me?!" Senji muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Nice meeting you…" Kirika called in reply, as her roommate hustled her quickly away from the approaching moans with an irritated expression.

Staring lazily at their retreating backs, Minatsuki sneered, pulling a grotesque face and spitting at the floor. "'Nice meeting you'? Fuck off, bitch. And _you- _you can fuck right off too, Kazuya, you fat-ass!" She gave the approaching hungry inmate a filthy look and watched him slink away slowly. "Hmph."

* * *

><p>"This room… this is…"<p>

Kirika stared at the small room, painted stark white. There was a lone bed, a greyish dresser, a table with two chairs and an empty bookshelf. A television was fastened securely to the wall. To her right, a metal door opened up to a tiny bathroom, which featured only toilet paper along with the toilet, sink and shower. _How many Cast Points does soap and shampoo cost?_

"They expected two Deadmen to share a bed." Senji stated crossly, staring at the bland room in distaste.

Kirika eyed off the small, single bed with mistrust; it barely looked like it would hold said man's huge body let alone hers as well. "Hm. You're on the floor, Senji."

He shrugged, uncaring. "I wouldn't have it any other way, woman."

Sitting on the surprisingly pliant mattress, she watched him set his meagre possessions about the place. He had exactly two _Mastery _magazines, four huge and heavy looking weights, a change of clothes and himself left from her demolition yesterday. Senji began tossing one of the weights about with ease with his right hand, looking pleased with himself. It was only then that Kirika noticed his left was no longer missing fingers.

"Is your hand okay?" she asked.

He looked up, startled, looking as though he'd forgotten she was there. "Ah, yeah, it's fine. No biggie."

She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry about that… and all of this." Kirika gestured towards his few possessions. "I guess I destroyed a lot of your things. I just want to say that it wasn't personal."

Senji looked displeased. "Hey, hey; don't go getting all apologetic on me now. I started it. Besides, it was a good fight, and I got to see what you can do. Forget it."

Inspecting his hand closely, Kirika couldn't even tell that he'd lost any in the first place, aside from a bandage around his knuckles and some faint, ragged lines on his olive skin. "When did she fix this? It's only been a few hours since we left the infirmary!"

He snorted as though it was simple. "They're pretty good with meds over here, and it was a quick surgery anyway. So long as these babies don't reject me," he wiggled the new fingers with only a tiny wince, "they'll be just fine come my fight."

Kirika felt a wave of nausea hit her throat. "Those… aren't your own fingers?"

"Of course not!" Senji roared with laughter. "You trashed mine, remember? Shit, you're like a goldfish. These are from some unlucky kid in B Block." He shrugged. "As far as I heard, the kid was just about dead anyway, so he won't mind."

Not having anything to say to that, she occupied herself with staring at her fingernails. It had barely been three days since she'd found herself in this place, and it was already starting to get to her. The faint stench of blood and sick lingered everywhere she went, reminding her of the day of the anomaly… _no. Don't think about that. _

"If we're done with the small talk," the man yawned, "I think I'll take a nap." He snatched his extra clothes and formed a rough pillow before stretching out languidly over the floor and closing his grey eyes. Within minutes, he was fast asleep, snoring lightly. Staring at him idly, she thought that his ability to do so was rather impressive.

In boredom, Kirika found the television remote and started flicking through the few channels on mute. There was fighting, fighting, and even more fighting. A young man's Branch of Sin caused explosions in mid-air, tearing his opponent's limbs off. Another man used razor-sharp blood from his fingers to shave off pure bone from a shrieking girl's thigh. Finally, a young girl with long, brown hair tore off her earrings and started stabbing a boy's chest, grinning fiendishly… _hold on. Is that Minatsuki?_ _Surely not, but… _

Kirika couldn't quite get a closer look at her face – it looked so much like her but _not _at the same time. It didn't help that the camera chose to focus on the display of blood spurting out of the boy's chest, either. After some time, the boy was still; clearly dead, the girl who looked like Minatsuki threw her head back in apparent laughter and rubbed her body all over his bloodied corpse, drenching herself in blood. _That can't be her. Maybe she has a twin. A fucked up one, that's for sure. _Noting the names of the Deadmen – Hummingbird and Sparrow, Kirika lay back on her own bed and shut her eyes.

She dreamed of amputated limbs, pools of blood and a young boy from long ago who called himself a superhero.

* * *

><p><strong>Playlist E<strong>

**Whatever Happened To The Million Head Collide - Pond**

**Cassandra Gemini - The Mars Volta**

**Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson**


	6. Chapter 6 - Natural Born Sinners

**A/N - I'd like to extend my gratitude to those of you who have followed or given a favourite to this series! Keep in mind that it is still very much a fledgling – the plot is still being set - and a lot more will need to happen before the real OC/Senji action begins. This chapter features some dialogue taken from the anime episode "The Carnival Corpse"; however, in general, this fiction will not totally follow the storylines found in either the manga or the anime. Sorry this chapter is shorter - I wanted to split up the ending scene. Please enjoy! (And guess who makes an entrance right at the end… _plotplotplot._)**

* * *

><p>Standing in the Promoter's room, Takashima couldn't help but feel cheerful as she scanned her clipboard for the results of the test on the girl. Crow had served his provocative purpose well, slicing her to shreds – the data recorded in their neck shackles had proven to be most interesting. The Raven's heartbeat had raced along to almost twice its normal speed, and her blood pressure had spiked dramatically as well. What happened after her 'unconsciousness' had also proved to be… exciting. She did not expect the girl to lose control so suddenly – thankfully nobody had suffered injuries that would really hamper anything. Takashima's hands were itching to pull the trigger on Raven herself; she wanted to dissect her peacefully and discover all her secrets.<p>

"Doctor, doctor, tell me that you've got something good for me! If it's not fun, I don't want to know about it until this match is over."

Tsunenaga, as it were, also appeared to be in an exceedingly good mood. He was watching the match between Woodpecker and Crow with an abruptly boyish glee, smiling as he saw the younger boy clamber up a tree. "The Crow's claws are still going to find you, little one." A small chuckle slipped from his thin lips as he watched the first signs of anaemia appeared to kick in.

"An adult male can handle losing about two litres of blood. But a boy his size will fall into shock if he loses more than a litre and a half." Typing in data onto the computer, Takashima decided to humour her boss, who seemed to enjoy the test subjects more when they were alive.

"Huh. What happens then?"

She puffed on her cigarette, feeling bored. "Nothing. He dies."

A very amused laugh spilled through the room.

"By the way, we've gotten some test results on 5580 and 5585 – Woodpecker and Raven."

"Is that right?" Tsunenaga laced his fingers together, eyes still locked onto the battle.

"The red crystal inside the boy is similar to all of the other prisoners of G. I'd say without a doubt that he's one of _them._"

The man scoffed. "We already knew that; aren't we watching them fight right now?"

"That's not the interesting part, much as I'd like to take him apart regardless," Takashima drawled, looking away from the computer. "The red crystal inside the girl is definitely _not _like any of those found inside G. And after looking at the tapes of their fight, I must honestly say… I'm a little concerned."

The Promoter removed his viewing goggles and quirked an eyebrow. "Huh. That's not like you, dear doctor. What is it?"

Takashima crossed her inklings off her fingers. "One; a big personality change. Two; memory lapses of everything that happened _after _she changed. Three; extreme power. Four; bouts of unconsciousness after the worst of the violence."

"You're going to have to just come out and say it, _Rei_," he smiled childishly.

Her forehead creased in distaste at hearing him say her name. "Why does it sound like we now have the beginnings of another Wretched Egg in our wards?"

"Impossible. There is only one Wretched Egg."

"On the contrary, it is entirely possible." Takashima shrugged. "We still don't have the results of all the data tests that were done after the anomaly. In any case, we need to make sure the Mother Goose System is running at all times – or you could just let me kill - "

Tsunenaga interrupted her coldly. "No."

"Promoter, if she really _is _what we think she is, we need to take precautions, or - "

"You may dissect her if she joins the Losers show, or if she dies. But you absolutely will not harm her in any other way, do you understand? She's _my _toy," his eyes glimmered strangely in the dim light, "and I don't like to share my toys."

Takashima sighed. She'd just have to find another way to get at the girl without his noticing. "Understood, sir."

Like flicking a switch, Tsunegaga's mood brightened. "Good! Now come and watch the rest of this match with me. Looks like the Woodpecker's in trouble! You'd have fun dissecting him, right?"

The doctor rolled her eyes. _I'll find a way to get you, little girl._

* * *

><p>Splayed on her bed watching the evening news, Kirika reflected on watching Ganta come back from what seemed like the very brink of death to eliminate Senji from the match. Ganta was dogged, she'd give him that. His never-say-die behaviour at the end felt familiar to her in a way – she couldn't pinpoint exactly when, but she felt like she'd once seen the same qualities on someone else as a young girl. In any case, she was now <em>very <em>aware of what happened in the Carnival Corpse; it disgusted her. _Blood, blood and more blood. Like we were all born in the gutters; like we're just some fucking puppets._ Her heart sank as she realised she would not be able to escape from participating herself. _It's just a matter of time. _

"And now… it's time for the 'Too Bad For The Losers' show!"

Senji's nonchalant words echoed in her mind from days before. _"We fight, someone loses. The losers get a part of themselves removed by the doctors. Sounds fun, right?"_

"Hey! What's happening, everyone? It's time for the Carnival Corpse post-game treat!" An overly cheery chicken announced. It would have almost seemed comical, except…

_Oh no. Senji._

Kirika clenched her fist as she watched her roommate. His face rigidly expressionless, hands grasping the armrests, Senji sat in a bland chair that one might find at the dentist's. She saw doctor Takashima and assorted 'helpers' roll out surgical trays and something that seemed like a slot machine, except there were _body parts_ instead of numbers or normal shapes.

Kirika wondered if Ganta was watching this. She wondered if Ganta cared. _I don't know him. Maybe he's got the taste for blood and guts like the rest of the scum here do, as well. No… I really hope he doesn't. He seemed nice back then. Normal, even. I need to talk to him. _

"Hi there, Senji. It looks like I'll be taking something from you much sooner than you expected - I hope your luck has improved since the fight." Takashima licked her lips slowly, like a tiger seeking out prey, as she started the game.

Senji glared at her coldly as he stared at the spinning shapes. "Just do it," he growled tonelessly.

The doctor smiled and pushed downwards, slowing the revolutions. Kirika tasted something metallic, and realised that she had been biting her lip. "The right eye," she whispered, in unison with the pleased surgeon.

_No. No. No. _

She stood abruptly and left the cell, pacing, pacing, pacing. God, was everyone in G-Block watching it? No matter where she walked, she could hear it… the agonised yells of a man… her roommate… a _person_…

_This place is insane. I swear I'll burn it down, no matter how long it takes! No matter what - _

A slow, sensuous finger traced its way down her spine, followed by a dark giggle.

"Hi there. You look a bit lost. Want me to help you home? I _promise_ I won't make it too painful."

* * *

><p><strong>Playlist F<strong>

**Master Of Puppets - Metallica**

**Bring Me Coffee Or Tea - Can**

**My Apocalypse - Escape The Fate**


	7. Chapter 7 - Golden Candy

**A/N - WARNING: A sexual assault trigger may be present to some readers in the first third of this chapter, so read at your own risk. It's not too heavy, but I felt that I should provide a warning regardless. Hopefully you won't hate on Toto's characterisation too much - I'm basing the majority of this fiction on the anime, where very little was done to develop his personality - to me, he simply seemed a little bit attractive and a whole lot crazy, so I've decided to just go from there. On a brighter note, a big hug to everyone who has reviewed/messaged me about this story! I really appreciate it. **

* * *

><p>She whirled around, only to be met with icy hands grasping her shoulders, shoving her back into the hard wall. The same hands slid down her shoulders slightly, resting just atop of her breasts. Slowly, ignoring her struggles – <em>he was strong –<em> he slid his right-hand fingers down her side, resting at her hip.

"I promise I won't make it too painful," he repeated softly, bright golden eyes glimmering with dark glee, fingers edging just beneath the folds of her leather dress.

_Don't you fucking touch me. _"Let go of me _right now._"

"Ah, but you were the one wandering around alone. Don't you know it's dangerous out here?" The boy leaned forward, pale teal hair tickling her neck. She felt his wet tongue snake out and caress her neck; he sighed contentedly. "You taste as good as you smell, you know. You taste like… moonlight. Would you pretty please let me have some _more_?" He finished the word with a salacious grin.

Kirika wanted to scream, wanted to rake his skin to shreds – but at that moment he suffocated her with a kiss. He ignored her muffled protests, locking his hands over hers to rest on top of her mussed hair, knees pressing into the inside of her thighs, tongue forcing its way into her mouth. To add to the torture, the awful, agonised screams of Senji's eye gouging continued to echo down the hallway for what seemed like an infinite time.

_Thank you for the opportunity, you bastard. _She bit down as hard as she could, pleased at hearing his resulting yelp of pain, as hot blood spilled its way into both of their mouths.

"_Ouch_," the boy said, looking amused. To her immediate relief, he stepped away, swirling about merrily in his white tunic. "That's a rather nasty bite… thank you." To her disgust, he poked out his tongue and formed his blood into the shape of a _heart_. It disappeared as soon as she stepped up and angrily slapped him across the face. She felt a savage joy seeing the resulting hand print left across his pale right cheek.

"Who the fuck gave you permission to touch me, you slimy little pervert?!"

He laughed sunnily, uncaring. "Feisty, feisty. You know as well as I do that you could have stopped me if you wanted to… Miss Deadman. Or should I say, Deadwoman?"

"I'm very tempted to stop you right now," she snarled furiously. _Shit, he's right. I didn't even think about using my powers. _

"You're beautiful when you're angry, you know," he smiled angelically. "I think I really like you. What's your name? Mine's Toto – Toto Sakigami. I'm also known as Mockingbird."

"_She's the rookie who Tsunenaga required Undertakers for- that hasn't happened since Mockingbird. And we all know how psycho that bastard is_." Senji's words echoed quietly in her mind. Kirika scowled in disgust. _Well, now I know how psycho he is, too. I wonder what he did to Senji…_

"Come on, tell me. It's only fair you tell me yours since I told you mine," Toto wheedled. She batted away his attempt to kiss her hand; he pouted. "Aw, I was just trying to be nice."

Kirika tossed her hair and stepped a good five metres away from him. "Nice? You call sexually assaulting me _nice_?"

"I just wanted to see what you could do with your ability…" he sighed, stepping directly beneath a light. She made out scars all around his neck, wrists and leg joints – like they'd all been cut away and stitched up again. _What the hell happened to him?_ "I'm _very _sorry if I offended you."

The sing-song way he played about with his words left her feeling rather disgruntled. _You definitely don't mean it, huh?_

"Just don't ever touch me like that again," Kirika warned. "Or you'll regret it."

Toto giggled. "Scary, scary. Next time I'll be sure to get your permission first, okay?"

She shook her head in disgust, not bothering to retort. No longer being able to hear Senji's voice from all the TVs in the cells, she began to walk in the direction of her room. _Things must have calmed down. I should make sure he's okay. _"Goodbye, Toto. Don't come near me in future."

"Wait!" He called. "What's your name?"

"It's 'None Of Your Business, Asshole,'" she called, disappearing around the bend.

Toto made a face at the spot where she had stood. "Aw, you're rude." He smiled sweetly. "But I really, really like you now. Wonder if Shiro knows anything more about her?"

The Mockingbird hummed and skipped his way towards the girl's confines.

* * *

><p><em>Dab. Dab. Dab. <em>

"Ouch! Can't you be a bit gentler?"

"Hmm. I thought she'd given you horse-strength painkillers for this."

_Dab. Dab. _

"Fuck, not so hard! Well, I'm no baby mare and I'm damn sure that that's all these are for, so - _ouch_."

_Dab. Dab. _"Aren't you supposed to be all manly and tough about this sort of thing?"

"Try getting your eye gouged out and see how you feel afterwards."

_Dab. _"Huh. You've got a point, I guess."

There was rustling as the bandages were put away. "Alright, I think you're all done."

"You're damn right I am."

It was 3 AM in the cell housing the two Deadmen. Neither Kirika nor Senji had gotten any sleep over the night, mainly because the former was still enraged at Toto's behaviour and the latter was in a _lot _of pain. Furthermore, Senji's bandaging required changing every few hours to keep from infective complications – but he couldn't exactly be expected to do it on his own – and Takashima had already made it quite clear that he was going to have to take care of this issue himself.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find someone to help," the doctor had smirked, waving him away with only some painkillers and those laconic words. Senji gritted his teeth at her callousness. It was just lucky (well, he never thought he'd think it) that he had a roommate who didn't mind the sight of blood and gore _too_ much to help him. Ganta wouldn't have relished the job, that's for sure.

Kirika disarmed his stream of thought with a smack to his head. "So, what are you going to do about the eye?"

"Eye? What eye? There is no eye," Senji snarked, watching her hide a smile with a scowl.

She pointed at the dark, gaping hole on the right side of his face. "That looks disgusting. Maybe you could get a fake one, or an eye-patch or something."

"Or maybe I could let it go commando and scare the shit out of everyone who's enough of a pussy to get scared, huh?" He snorted. "Just imagine. Ganta'd get such a kick out of it."

"Imagine, though, if you went into another Carnival Corpse and someone stabbed you in the eye with their Branch of Sin…" Kirika smirked at his thunderstruck expression. "Having second thoughts now?"

Senji harrumphed. "It's not like I hadn't already thought of that or anything." He stood up, walking to the bathroom door with gusto. "Don't get all cocky because it's – _fuck_!" Clearly unused to only having a single eye to manoeuvre with, he'd christened the wall beside the door with a crater in the shape of his head.

Kirika burst out laughing. "Are you alright? That was – ha, ha – too funny to see – should've recorded it, ha!"

"Shut up," he growled, slamming the door shut, stifling her giggles.

She smiled at the wall, feeling warm. _Maybe we can become friends._

* * *

><p>Morning came in the ways of a 7:00 AM breakfast with a number of the inmates in G-Block. For the first time since she had arrived at Deadman Wonderland, Kirika elected to eat with the others, using up some of the Cast Points she had been awarded for fighting with Senji earlier. He had also made his way to the dining room with her, looking fairly weary – she'd managed to find some sleep but it was evident he hadn't; his left eye was rimmed with a tired redness. His right socket was still covered with a bandage and also a black eye-patch that he had bought.<p>

Minatsuki greeted the pair in a pale pink frock, a purple flower in her hair. "Good morning!"

"Morning," mumbled Senji tersely, swiping his card at the register and heading straight towards the meat counter.

Kirika smiled in apology, seeing the young girl's forehead crease in a light frown. "He hasn't slept much overnight, for obvious reasons."

"It looked horrible…" Minatsuki whispered, trembling. "I really hope that that never happens to me."

_The horrible truth is that she's such a timid thing. It probably _would _happen to her_.

"Well, let's not worry about that until we have to, alright?" Kirika casually swiped her own card at the counter. "That's a pretty flower in your hair, by the way. What type is it?"

Minatsuki smiled sweetly. "Belladonna. It's my favourite."

_Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, is one of the most poisonous plants in the world, _Kirika remembered from a classroom study she had done a year ago.

"That's an unusual choice," she said, surprised. "Why do you like it?"

The younger girl dug her fork into a strawberry, sucking thoughtfully. "I think it's pretty. I know it's poisonous, but… if you're stupid enough to taste it, then the results are really your own fault, right?"

"Right…"

_That cold answer – maybe she really _is _Hummingbird, after all. _The horrific images of a girl rolling around in the bloody corpse of her prey flashed through her mind.

Minatsuki rested a soft hand on top of Kirika's. "Um, you don't think it's weird, right?"

_Play it safe. _"Of course not."

"Great," the young girl grinned. "Oops, excuse me for a second." She rummaged through her bag, taking out a candy sheepishly. "I almost forgot that I had to take this today."

Kirika's blood ran cold.

_Shit. One, two, three, four… how many days has it been? _She quickly did the calculations in her head. Minatsuki waved a hand around her blank eyes. "Are you okay…?"

She blinked. "I'm fine. Ah – I'm really sorry, but I have to go." Kirika scraped back the chair with such force that it toppled over; she paused briefly to correct it and then ran out of the dining room.

"W-wait! What's wrong?" Minatsuki called, watching the girl slam the door. All the other Deadmen had also focused their eyes upon the scene, and were murmuring quietly to themselves.

Senji looked at the swinging door, and then shrugged. She was tough enough to handle it on her own. She had beaten him with shots that were definitely strong, after all. "Dead centre," he muttered softly, digging into his food.

* * *

><p>All the hallways looked the same, no matter where she ran. <em>Shit. I'm out of candy and I don't have enough Cast Points to buy any more. I need to find the Weasel. <em>

"Can I help you?" A melodic voice drawled, stopping directly in front of her.

Kirika swerved violently and narrowly avoided crashing into the white tunic that seemed to swirl about everywhere. "Toto! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now that's no way to treat someone who might be able to help you, y'know," the Mockingbird flashed an easy white grin. "Is it?"

"It hasn't been very long since I saw you last," she said darkly. "There's no way that I'd forgive you or anything so soon."

He seemed to think it over, brushing his pale blue locks behind his ear thoughtfully. "Hmm, I guess you have a point – though I did already apologise for _that_. Well, how about I help you without expecting anything in return?"

"I need candy," Kirika said flatly, digging in her feet. She half felt like running away from the boy, who didn't really seem to be all _there._

A delighted laugh slipped from his lips. "I could give you some candy - but _that, _I'm afraid, would cost you."

She glared, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't play games, Mockingbird. What do you want?'

Toto shrugged. "Just a taste. A kiss would suffice."

"Absolutely no way, you sick freak," Kirika hissed, narrowing her hazel eyes to slits. "Why are you so interested in that, anyway?"

A slightly hurt look shadowed his face for a mere instant, before it was overcome by a casual shrug. "You didn't believe me when I said I liked you? It was all true. I wouldn't lie to you – not like that gorgeous brute you keep in a leash."

"I've no idea what you're talking about," she replied, irritated. "And anyway, I'm not kissing you. I'm in a hurry. So what _wouldn't _cost me anything?"

Toto sighed, playing with his tunic's sleeves. "I can direct you to Tsunenaga, if you want. He'd be able to make something for you to do to get Cast Points."

"For _free_, right?" Kirika warned, eyes glittering dangerously. _He's a trickster… and surprisingly annoying. Come on, stay calm, Kirika. _

"Consider it my proper apology – I'll have saved your life," the boy grinned cheekily, dancing about. He pointed a slender finger toward the left turn at the junction where they stood. "Come on, I'll take you there."

* * *

><p><strong>Playlist G<strong>

**Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek - Blue October**

**Headlock - Imogen Heap**

**Assassin - Muse**


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